Your Move Chief

There's a memo circulating around our company that we should write about Robin Williams. So I'm kind of aimlessly typing. Never met the man. Like so many of us though he made me laugh and for that I feel a need to thank him. This stranger, this star that burned so bright.

I do lots of stuff on lots of stages. Most of it is straight emcee duty kind of work. If I'm lucky I'll get a couple of laughs along the way. Usually due to some person or situation at whatever event I'm hosting providing me some fodder. What amazed me so about Robin Williams was his fearlessness. He would take the stage, make no mistake, he took it and it was totally his, and just assume that he'd find some person or thing to play off of and that he'd be entertaining and funny. And he was. Every single time. No script, not the traditional stand-up routine. Just go out there, be funny and come back.

Then there was his range. Here's a guy that started out as a goofy alien on a TV show. In show business that's the kind of role that can get you type-cast pretty fast. Unless you are an incredibly talented individual, your next role after "TV alien" could easily be "smiling guy eating toast" in an "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" commercial. Not Robin Williams. Here was a man with so much raw talent and ability that he would go on to be funny, serious, deep, emotional and one of the true great talents of our time. I'm not even sure what to call him because he was so much more than a comic or an actor. He was a presence in our lives for so many years and in so many ways.

Radio guys will remember him for his portrayal of real-life DJ Adrian Cronauer in 1987's "Good Morning Vietnam". He took another turn at portraying a radio guy in 2006 as "The Night Listener".

Whether it's Mork, Mrs. Doubtfire, or Sean Maguire... This is a man who made an impact on you in some way. And at some point he also made you laugh your ass off. A rare gift indeed and a body of work that will last forever.